Statement of the American Party of Labor on Events at the US/Mexico Border

The American Party of Labor resolutely and emphatically condemns the gross violation of international law and fundamental human decency that occurred at the US/Mexico Border when agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the US Border Patrol fired tear gas and rubber bullets at migrants and asylum seekers outside of Tijuana, Mexico on November 25th.

Under both international and US law (The Refugee Act of 1980), The United States is required to provide protection to asylum seekers and others fleeing persecution. Under law, asylum seekers must be granted a screening interview to determine whether they have a credible expectation of persecution in their country of origin. In treating the Migrant Caravan, as it has been termed, as though it were an invading army and not a mass of hungry and desperate people seeking to escape the poverty, exploitation, and misery created by the actions and policies of the US government itself in Central America, is illegal. Additionally, the firing of rubber bullets and tear gas cannisters across the border and into Mexican territory is not only a further violation of international law, it can be considered a violation of Mexican national sovereignty constituting a potential act of war.

It should be noted that CS-gas (2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile), although legal for use by police agencies in the United States, is a chemical weapon that has been outlawed for battlefield useby nearly every nation on Earth, including the United States.

The use of CS-gas on innocent civilians, including children and infants, seeking asylum in the United States is a war crime.

The American Party of Labor demands that the initiators and perpetrators of this act, up to and including the President of the United States, Donald Trump, be charged with violation of international law, and with war crimes under the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.